Cleaning

Don't feel miserable, morethan2, you've managed a lot more than I would have done in a day before getting fed up and doing something more interesting. These sorts of jobs are miserable because there's no big change - you expend a lot of effort and have very little to show for it. Whereas I spent 10 minutes putting a coat of white gloss onto a couple of kitchen windowsills the other day and it made such a difference! That's my favourite sort of job.

I think the answer in part maybe more of a little bit at a time approach, rather than tackling too much in one day. So, for example, your kitchen cupboards one day, a bedroom fettle on a different day, and so on. It’s hard, physical work, especially moving furniture to get behind it to clean, so, yes, definitely a bit at a time. My MiL had a saying: “There’s plenty of days not touched yet”, ie, spread it out a bit! ?

When I was working I had a routine for cleaning. Cooker one week, windows the next, a general clean each week. To be honest, as long as it's reasonably OK now, I don't really bother too much. (Or care).

I know what you mean Morethan I used to weekly even when I worked, windowlened all my windows in a fairly large bungalow, wash down all my woodwork in every room, completely clean worktops, cooker, cupboards doors etc in kitchen/utility room weekly and panicked if I did not get things done timeously. I still do most of these things but not weekly just when I feel I have the enthusiasm or if see something specifically needs doing. My mum always said 'just wait until you get older' I now know what she meant! Just tackle one big job at a time rather than exhaust yourself, it really isn't worth it. That takes a lot for me to say by the way but it's true. Hope you are enjoying a week earned seat. Have a glass of wine tonight!

Don't worry about it! I don't, it's as much as I can do to keep up with food shopping and preparing meals etc.
I do like things to be tidy though, don't like clutter about.

Sounds like you may have overdone it there morethan. Do a bit, sit down a bit is my mantra.

Why take so much on all at once? I clean and tidy the inside of one kitchen cupboard roughly every week. As each gets done every few months it rarely takes more than 10 minutes a cupboard.

Other things to do are to make sure as much furniture as possible is on legs, that way furniture doesn't need to be moved to be cleaned under and cleaning under it also becomes just part of a weekly vacuum.

As for winter clothes: as I put one set of summer clothes to the wash before packing it away, I get one set of winter clothes out. the whole job gets spread out over up to a month. Admittedly they just go from one wardrobe to another and one drawer to another, so it doesn't really take much effort

The idea of cleaning my windows and washing paintwork every week has never even entered my head as something that needs to be done. Once every few months is quite sufficient and, for windows, always use a chamois leather, much less effort than Windolene, or any other proprietary window cleaner.

I am by nature lazyand find housework terminally boring so I look at each job and decide what is the easiest, quickest and most efficient way to do it and how much of it can I avoid doing at all.

I'm in the spread it out over weeks rather than all at once camp. I do a spring clean and an autumn clean.

If I don't wear an item of clothing within a year. I get rid.

A few years ago I used the Maria Kondo method on drawers and wardrobes. I've kept on top of it. A habit now really.

The rest is left to how I'm feeling at the time. Constantly fight procrastination.

Kitchen/bathroom/cloakroom to me are the important places, otherwise I just try to keep clutter at bay but wow, when visitors are expected I turn into a whirling Dervish. When they’ve left, I rest on my laurels till the next time .......

After my total knee replacement I junked all the big hoovers/gtech/dysons etc and invested in a Shark vacuum stick. It's changed my life. I now dust, wet wipe surfaces do the loos etc daily guide the shark (it powers itself, has a light to see where it/you are going, and am finished in about 20 minutes tops. Weekends if the kids/grands aren't dropping in (more now since I had emergency surgery and nearly died of sepsis- another story) my DH helps me sort out and declutter - I buy much less and am training myself to take at least one bag to the charity a week. Ive realised that the less you have the less you have to clean. Going to be hard as I'm a hoarder inside struggling to take over. As for high standards - as we age thank God our eyesight deteriorates and to be honest who wants to be cleaner of the year? Not me. Relax and do what you can.

I can no longer move furniture or lift anything so what DH doesn't do gets left. If I kneel down to look in a cupboard I have great difficulty getting up again. I happily tidy shelves at waist height though.

Monica...glad to read your attitude to cleaning is the same as mine!

I will only do two hours housework a day with a tea break in the middle. Whatever doesn’t get done, waits until the next two hour slot!! I cannot pretend my house is exceptionally clean (it is old and quite large) but I really don’t care. I didn’t give up work to replace it with housework and when I was working I certainly didn’t have a lot of time to do housework.

I agree with peaches and am buying less and giving away more. That shark sounds good I will have to look into one of those. We do have a dyson that recharges and find we rarely use the heavier Sebo cleaner now.

I just take my glasses of, everything looks fine then.

Off!!

It's getting to be a real problem. Heaven knows what I shall do in a few years time. I manage now by doing just a bit at a time.

OMG - just checked out the Maria Kondo method on YouTube - what a revelation! I can't wait to sort the drawers out now and make everything stand up! Thank you for the tip alex!

Oh, missdeke I feel just the same. The last time I cleaned out a cupboard was when we moved 6 years ago. Plenty of time to do them again "later". Like the others, kitchen/bathroom/loo are the important places. Unless asthmatic, no-one has died from dust Ii DO dust weekly, but under protest ]

only do 2 hours housework a day, Good grief, I do not much more than that a week! Cram it in on Monday-Tuesday and forget about it.

Thank you M0nica, makes me feel a great deal better. but - I just do it on Mondays...

I only do housework when the mood takes me. Today none will be done except making the bed as I am busy making glass christmas decorations. Tomorrow if the weathers good, I will go out cycling for the day. So can't help really.

Morethan2 I am “ten years on” and then some. I have a once a fortnight for two hours cleaner, as much as I can afford. I had builders in for two days and had to forego the cleaner who now can’t come for another two weeks and I’ve been sitting at the kitchen table worrying about it. Should have foregone Gransnet and at least got the hoover out but after a bad night I just feel too tired. She can’t help with the myriad other jobs that need doing either. Getting older is no fun.

Hiya, I'm also 65 and at first read your list looked exhausting, but on reading again to perhaps give advice, most of it doesn't take energy, its activities not hard work.

Tidying cupboards and chucking out old stuff .. switching round summer and winter stuff, not so much work as something to do on a wet day. Moving furniture and beds ... If they are big and heavy you shouldn't be doing it anyway, either get help or don't do it, it's not essential.

If you're a "must clean everything every day" person I totally agree with an earlier poster, get yourself a cordless vacuum, I have a GTech, very light and powerful.

If your home is too large for you perhaps downsize, meet new people and have some activities outside the home!

All the best.